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Thursday, May 5, 2016

Pearl Izumi: Jersey and Bib Short Review

There isn’t much question if Pearl Izumi is one of the best companies in the sports industry today…
because they are! I cannot
argue on that. But how it all started is worth mentioning in my opinion.

Every company has their own
humble beginning and Pearl Izumi is no different. The
idea began in Tokyo, Japanmore than 50 years ago by
a man named Kinji Shimizu. The year was 1964 when one of his sons, Hiro, was
racing for the Japanese national team at the Asian Cycling Championships. The
race director had ordered jerseys made of cotton and one special jersey. In
order to be fair with his cyclists, he had everybody’s name on a piece of paper
in the helmet. He drew one name from the helmet and Hiro’s name was pulled.
Hiro won the special jersey, a jersey that was made of 100% nylon. Kinji’s
support for his son’s cycling career drove him to create cycling apparels made
of the same material and perfected it along those years. Pearl Izumi started
producing cycling apparels and later extended it to running and triathlon.

I reviewed one of their products
last month, the Pursuit 5” Short and you can read my full review here.
This time it’s a bit different, they gave me a chance to review their cycling
apparels and I’m very excited on this new opportunity. I received the P.R.O. Escape Jersey and the ELITE In-R- Cool Bib Short a couple of weeks ago and I’ve been testing it since
then. So let’s dive in on the details:

Well it’s been two weeks now
that I’ve been testing the Pearl Izumi’s cycling apparels and I got to say that
these will satisfy your lust (cycling speaking, that is) and will surely change
your perspective on how much the cycling apparels have evolved over the years.

When I first got these, my
initial reaction was “wow”. I was amazed with how soft and sleek the materials are for jersey and the bib. Over the years that I’ve been cycling, I pretty
much tested a lot of different varieties of jerseys and shorts and I can say
that they are not created equal. Pearl Izumi has always been one of the best
choices for me when it comes to cycling apparels. Pearl Izumi surely
incorporated “fashion and function” on their new trend of apparels. With the
new trend of cycling apparels, this is definitely a make or break for them and
I think Pearl Izumi delivered this with flying colors.

The JERSEY: Visually inspecting the jersey, the
material they used for the shoulder and chest really stood out because it is
quite unique. It’s so sleek and smooth that wind can easily slide thru it, which makes perfect sense since these are the biggest parts of our body that are always
exposed to the wind. This type of material is similar to the time trial suit worn
by pro cyclists which main purpose is to eliminate or lessen the wind drag. The
vent (mesh material) was strategically placed along the heat zones (side arms
and back) to easily dissipate heat and wick the moisture out quickly away from
the body. Pearl Izumi has incorporated this coldblack technology for cooling
effect and sun protection. Coldblack? that’s kind of like oxymoron to me. I was
a bit skeptical in the beginning since black color, as we all know, absorbs a
lot of heat. But this was a complete opposite on what I thought when I tested this on one of my rides and the temperature was above
80oF and the humidity
was high. I was really surprised that I didn’t even bother to zip down to
ventilate and it feels cool to the skin as they claim. Oh, speaking of zipper,
the thing I liked most was the full length zipper that is soft and flexible. This
is much better than having a ¾ zipper which some brands still utilized. I
still don’t understand why some still used the ¾ zipper when it doesn’t give
you the full benefit to ventilate on hot rides especially on summer. Kudos to Pearl
Izumi on this.

Most of the jerseys we know have
3 pockets, well this one has 5 pockets. Pearl Izumi was able to squeezed in two
more decent size pockets at the back of the two tapered side pockets where I can
stash small items like gels and energy chews. I like this idea since I’m not a
big fan of the saddle bag and most of my cycling essentials are stored and kept
in my jersey. But either way, I’m pretty sure that you’ll appreciate that extra
storage on the long run, whatever your preference maybe.

When it comes to fit, all the
greatness of the material is nothing if it doesn’t fit right. Well this is not
the case on the jersey I tested, which is expected from a brand like Pearl
Izumi. The fit is true to size and it moves along with my body. I
personally like the race cut and form fitting jerseys, which eliminates the
flapping of the materials as I fly down the road.

As for safety, Pearl Izumi wants
us to be safe so they added some reflective materials that will make you
visible to motorists especially during low light conditions.

The BIB SHORT: Pearl Izumi didn’t stop on the
jersey. As we all know the bib and the jersey need to complement each other and
I was not disappointed at all. This is one of the most comfortable bib shorts I
ever worn. If you are not familiar with the bib short, it has straps that
slings over the shoulder. Over the years that I’ve been cycling, I found it
more comfortable than the regular cycling shorts. The straps eliminate the
bunching of the material along the waist which could sometimes lead to some blood
flow issue along that region. Now that we have taken that out of the way, let’s get
to the nitty gritty details.

It is too obvious that Pearl
Izumi did take a lot of time in designing the bib. It has the appropriate amount
of compression all around the legs that I immediately felt when I put it on. The
material was so soft, supple and feels very comfortable on my skin. The
silicone leg gripper has a soft stretch and it stays in place all throughout my
entire ride. It also has the coldblack technology that provided cooling
effect on my legs.

The bib straps are one of the
nicest things that I’ve seen from Pearl Izumi. As a cyclist, this is one of the
things I consider since this is always up against my skin. The straps are made
of super soft and breathable mesh material that I basically didn’t even feel
that it was there when I was riding.

Image Credit: Pearl Izumi

Now let’s tackle everybody’s biggest
concern when buying a bib or the regular short…the chamois. In my opinion this is the most important part of
the cycling short that could make or break your riding experience, it’s either
you like it…or not. Pearl Izumi used the 3D anatomic chamois which has a
variable density of 13mm and conforms to the contour of your behind. I no
longer have the “beginner’s butt” (no pun intended) but it’s still nice to have
to get that added support and padding when the road turns bad. There is a wickedly
rough section along on one of my routes that we nicknamed the “Paris-Roubaix”
and having this kind of chamois is the difference between night and day. Trust
me it does makes a big difference to have a nice chamois especially on longer
rides like a century where you will be sitting for many hours on the saddle.

My Verdict

I no longer race my bike but I
still want to go fast on most of my rides, and these apparels are meant to
deliver you to the line ahead of everybody. The construction, quality and fit
of these high-performance cycling apparels are something to dig for and you
will not be disappointed on its performance. I highly suggest that you give it a
try and feel the difference it can bring to your rides. Whether it be a short
ride or a century, these will help you get there.

The price? Well it’s definitely
on the high side. The P.R.O. Escape Jersey cost $140 and the ELITE In-R- Cool Bib Shortis $135. But you need to realize that cycling is not a
cheap sport. It’s a very demanding sport that demands high quality performing materials
and I truly believe on the saying “you get what you paid for”. Pearl Izumi has
been on this business for more than five decades and they know exactly what they’re
doing. So the price for me is really justifiable. You cannot put a price on comfort
and performance on something that you love doing.

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About Finish Line Fever

Finish Line Fever is created and authored by Ferdinand Batatan. I'm just a regular guy like most of you who enjoys being active. Born and raised in the Philippines and migrated to the United States after finishing my college. I served in the U.S. Air Force and more importantly, I am a husband and father of two beautiful kids.